Ropes are often used to tie down loads, such as a tarp over a pickup truck bed. Ropes are also used to secure items, such as a tent to a stake. Often, it is difficult to get sufficient tension in the rope when simply tying it to a tie-down point. At other times, it is important to be able to tie an object down quickly, such as when there is imminent danger of capsizing or many ropes must be secured in a short time. Further, when conditions are adverse, such as poor light conditions or in cold weather that requires gloves, or just when hands are cold, it is often difficult to tie down items or properly tension the tie-down. Therefore, it would be useful to have a device that is capable of assisting in tying down and tensioning a rope. There are many rope tie downs and tensioning devices currently available. However, existing devices have drawbacks, including having complicated parts, being too expensive, requiring knots to be tied, or being difficult, time consuming, or complicated to use, particularly in adverse conditions.